Jess Hill - Orchard 2.5/5
Folk noir is the way best to describe Vancouver singer-songwriter Jess Hill's sophomore record Orchard. A staple on the indie circuit in Vancouver, Hill brings her atmospheric folk to life through lush instrumentals and an acoustic guitar.
Not for the merry and bright, Orchard is weighted in Hill's yearning vocals, rich violins, plucky banjos and poetic lyrics. There is no shortage on well crafted folk tunes, just don't go looking to pick daisies while humming along. The record is a slow, graceful waltz with flares of blues and jazz throughout. Hill's vocals are at times strikingly similar to one Norah Jones (listen to 'In The Evening'). Despite gorgeous strings, solid songwriting and Hill's subtle, seductive vocals, Orchard is a difficult record to get acquainted with given its gloomy ambiance, and the unshakable yearning in Hill's voice can be draining, and hard to swallow.
To her credit, Jess Hill strings together a record that is uniform from beginning to end, sticking to a formula that produces rich instrumentals and shows her true talent as a storyteller. She is a singer-songwriter by trade and proves she's got talent, now if only she could find a little light in the world.
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